DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Over 5 million word recognition tests are administered annually by audiologists in the United States with an associated cost of more then $100 million. These tests are currently performed manually by high-trained audiologists. This application describes a Phase I development of an automated clinical speech recognition test using clinical test recordings and an automated speech recognition system to score the subjects' responses. Methods for automatically interpreting the test scores will also be explored. The objectives are to increase the accuracy and efficiency of this clinical test while substantially reducing the cost. The automated speech recognition test in combination with the automated puretone audiogram (currently an STI'R Phase II project) will perform diagnostic testing of a majority of audiology patients, freeing the audiologists' time for activities that require their training and skill. Contemporary changes in training and reimbursement patterns create a high demand for automated clinical procedures. The automated procedure could be implemented on existing audiometers with a personal computer that would control the audiometer and run the speech recognition software.